Choi Dong-hoon | |
---|---|
Born | Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, South Korea | February 24, 1971
Education | Sogang University - B.A. in Korean Language and Literature Korean Academy of Film Arts - Filmmaking |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
Years active | 1998–present |
Spouse | Ahn Soo-hyun (film producer) |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
Revised Romanization | Choi Dong-hun |
McCune–Reischauer | Ch‘oe Tong-hun |
Choi Dong-hoon (Korean: 최동훈; born February 24, 1971) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He ranks as one of the most consistently successful directors working in contemporary Korean cinema, with all five of his films becoming commercial hits -- The Big Swindle attracted 2.12 million viewers, Tazza: The High Rollers at 6.84 million, Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard at 6.13 million, The Thieves at 12.9 million, and Assassination at 12.7 million.[1]
Career
After graduating from the prestigious Korean Academy of Film Arts, Choi Dong-hoon first worked as an assistant director on Im Sang-soo's Tears (he subsequently appeared in acting cameos in several of Im's films).[2]
After working on the screenplay for two years, Choi made his feature film directorial debut in 2004 with The Big Swindle and single-handedly re-imagined the heist and crime thriller genre into something uniquely Korean. His follow-up Tazza: The High Rollers, a gambling flick adapted from Huh Young-man and Kim Se-yeong's manhwa, was the second highest grossing Korean film of 2006, and producer/Sidus FNH CEO Cha Seung-jae praised Choi as "a genius storyteller for his spectacular ability to develop elaborate stories." 2009's Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard was lauded as the first Korean fantasy/superhero blockbuster movie, earning Choi a reputation as an artistically innovative and commercially successful writer-director.[3]
He returned to the heist genre in 2012 with the star-studded crime caper The Thieves,[4] which attracted almost 13 million viewers in 70 days to become the second all-time highest grossing movie in Korean film history.[5][6][7][8] Tazza and Thieves leading lady Kim Hye-soo described him as "a genius who also works extremely hard. I think he knows who he is, the exact kind of films that he wants to make, and how to make them."[2]
Choi made his first period film with 2015's Assassination, about freedom fighters during Japan's colonial rule, and it was once again a box office hit, crossing the 10 million admissions milestone on the 70th anniversary of South Korean independence.[9][10]
In 2017, Choi began production on his next film Wiretap, a remake of the 2009 Hong Kong film Overheard.[11] However, production was halted so Kim Woo Bin could undergo treatment for cancer.[12] At the end of 2019, the director was then reported to be working on a two-part science fiction film.[13] The first part titled Alienoid which depicts a story unfolding as the door of time open between late Goryeo and the present day, when aliens appear, was released in July 2022.[14]
Filmography
As director
- A Short Trip (short film, director; 2000)
- The Big Swindle (director, screenwriter; 2004)
- Tazza: The High Rollers (director, screenwriter; 2006)
- Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (director, screenwriter; 2009)
- The Thieves (director, screenwriter; 2012)
- Assassination (director, screenwriter, producer; 2015)
- Alienoid (director, screenwriter, producer; 2022)
- Alienoid 2 (director, screenwriter, producer; 2024)
- Wiretap (director, screenwriter; TBA)
Other
- Tears (assistant director, cameo; 2000)
- A Good Lawyer's Wife (cameo; 2003)
- Boy Goes to Heaven (screenwriter; 2005)
- The President's Last Bang (cameo; 2005)
- The Restless (screenwriter; 2006)
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 3rd Korean Film Awards | Best New Director | The Big Swindle | Won |
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
2004 | 25th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Director | Won | |
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
2004 | 7th Director's Cut Awards | Best New Director | Won | |
2004 | 24th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best New Director | Won | |
2004 | 41st Grand Bell Awards | Best New Director | Won | |
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
2005 | 2005 SBS Gayo Daejeon | Music Video of the Year | MV | Won |
2006 | 14th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Film | Tazza: The High Rollers | Nominated |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
2006 | 27th Blue Dragon Film Awards[15] | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
2007 | 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Won | |
Best Film | Nominated | |||
Best Director | Won | |||
2007 | 8th Newport Beach Film Festival[16] | Best Feature | Won | |
Best Director | Won | |||
2007 | 44th Grand Bell Awards | Best Director | Nominated | |
2007 | 8th Busan Film Critics Awards | Best Screenplay | Won | |
2007 | 6th Korean Film Awards | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
2012 | Best Director | The Thieves | Nominated | |
Buil Readers' Jury Award | Won | |||
2012 | Best Director | Nominated | ||
2012 | Best Film | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay[lower-alpha 1] | Nominated | |||
Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film | Won | |||
2012 | 20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards[19] |
Best Film | Won | |
2013 | Best Director | Nominated | ||
2015 | 24th Buil Film Awards | Best Film | Assassination | Nominated |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
2015 | Best Film | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Top 10 Films of the Year | Won | |||
2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay[lower-alpha 1] | Nominated | |||
2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay[lower-alpha 1] | Nominated | |||
2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay[lower-alpha 1] | Nominated | |||
2015 | 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Director | Won | |
Best Screenplay[lower-alpha 1] | Nominated | |||
2015 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Poster | Nominated |
See also
Notes
References
- ↑ "Film auteur Choi sets milestones with well-crafted plots, dialogues". The Korea Herald. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
- 1 2 Lee, Claire (21 August 2012). "Newsmaker: Director Choi Dong-hun steals show with The Thieves". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
- ↑ "CHOI Dong-hoon". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
- ↑ "The Caper Film King Is Back with The Thieves - CHOI DONG-HOON". Korean Cinema Today. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
- ↑ "The Thieves Takes Box Office by Storm with Nearly 10 Million Viewers". The Chosun Ilbo. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
- ↑ Kwaak, Je-yup (23 July 2012). "'Actor and director are like husband and wife'". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
- ↑ Cho, Jae-eun (13 June 2012). "The Thieves all-star cast set to steal show". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ "The Thieves now 2nd top-selling Korean film". The Korea Herald. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
- ↑ Baek, Byung-yeul (23 June 2015). "Thieves director returns with thriller". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ↑ Lee, Hyo-won (18 August 2015). "South Korea Box Office: Local Action Movie Assassination On Top, Becomes Biggest Film of 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- ↑ "Kim Woo-bin considers joining Wiretap's cast full of Thieves and Assassins". dramabeans.com. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ↑ "Kim Woo Bin puts all his projects on hold to concentrate completely on treatment". International Business Times. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ↑ "Blockbuster Director Choi Dong-hoon to Return with a 2-Part Sci-Fi Film". Asian Movie Pulse. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
- ↑ "Choi Dong-hoon's 'Alienoid Part 1' to hit theaters on July 20". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-23 – via Naver.
- ↑ "The War of Flower - Awards". Cinemasie.com. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ↑ "Newport Beach Film Festival Newport Beach, USA 2007 Awards". IMDb.
- ↑ Lee, Claire (30 October 2012). "Gwanghae sweeps Daejong Film Awards". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ↑ Ji, Yong-jin (4 December 2012). "PIETA Wins Best Picture at Blue Dragon Awards". Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
- ↑ "Winners - Film category". 20th KCEA Awards. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
- ↑ Hicap, Jonathan M. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
- ↑ Conran, Pierce (2 November 2015). "THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 6 November 2015.